Posted on February 11, 2022

What jazz and incredible events have in common featuring META’s JB

In our first instalment of EventLand‘s season 2 podcast series, we zoom in on event technology in 2022. 

EventLand’s brand new season 2 podcast series is powered by InEvent and hosted by Marian Volkwyn. The podcast aims to share event insight from some of the best event profs in the business. No-holds-barred – we want to share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

We invited Justin JB Bolognino, the founder and CEO of META (not to be confused with Facebook, as it has been his trademark since 2010). JB takes us on a journey through the 6 primary realities of the immersive media industry.

That was JB’s opening line as the podcast commenced, setting the tone for a conversation that left me with my jaw on the floor throughout. 

JB is the founder and CEO of META, an experience design production company that blends all of the realities together. 

JB believes that life is jazzing. “Literally, the universe is made up of varying frequencies of energy, all dancing together in real time, that sounds a lot like jazz,” says JB.

Listen to his full story here:

“The root of it all is music. Down at the bottom of the map of realities, we have what we call Sonic Realities (SR) and it’s in the root position for a reason. I truly believe that the entire universe is music,” proclaims JB enthusiastically.

Tease apart the technology from the content

While cognisant of the potential of technological advancement in the events industry, JB is concerned that not enough is being done to connect the technology of the present and the future.

“I don’t see enough conversations about how we will create harmony between web2 and web3,” says JB. 

Bringing it back to jazz, JB adds: “A flat 5 might feel really good in one context, but in another context, it’s gonna feel dissonant. I think we fight for one thing or another and we don’t focus on the harmonic balance between those two ideas.”

JB’s top tips for event technology

1. Start with your “why?”

“The worst thing you can do is to start with technology,” says JB. 

He further explains how clients sometimes start planning their events by asking about tech trends, but goes on to reiterate that tech is a tool and not an end. 

JB’s advice is to ask yourself: what is it that I am trying to do? What is the story that I am trying to tell? 

Once you are clear on the intention, then you can start to think about what technologies will be necessary to tell that story.

2. Reveal music through immersive experiences

“Music is not necessarily invisible, it is there. And what we do is, we reveal it through storytelling, technology and design”.

Through immersive media, META is able to bring music out of the audio realm and make it tangible by painting a picture – one that you can see and feel.

3. The best technology at an event is invisible

Although technology may be expensive, prompting event planners to go all out and showcase how their event budgets were spent, JB explains that the best tech is often invisible.

“Technology isn’t all in your face, it is hidden within the environments and design.”

4. Put your attendees within a story 

Instead of separating the human from the technological, the secret is to synthesize these two worlds by emphasizing and reminding attendees of our interconnectedness.

“The way to have the most impact on your audience at an event is to put them within a story,” advises JB.

5. The heart is the greatest human technology

JB reminds us that our bodies operate on a technological level too and that the heart is at the center of how we frame context and how we tell stories.

“If tech is the story, as opposed to the tech being the tool augmenting the story, you will not activate the heart. The heart will not feel anything. It will go up into the mind and the mind will start to be critical and reductionistic. So we have to think there first and then use whichever technologies are applicable to it.”

Find out how JB uses jazz to create incredible events:

This episode of EventLand was brought to you by InEvent. Check out Season 1, where we spoke to:

• Courtney Stanley on The adventures of being an event planner and emcee: Event Horror Stories [Episode 1].
• Beth Hernandez on The Silver Lining of Event Planning: Event Horror Stories [Episode 2].
• Tackling technical event planning with Anca Trifan: Event Horror Stories [Episode 3]

Tune in for more podcast episodes by EventLand, by following EventLand on Spotify.